Magnolia Red As Red

Magnolia 'Red as Red' is a bush whose abundant, bright red spring flowers catche everyone's attention in the garden. The large cup-shaped flowers appear before the leaves and create a magnificent spectacle on its bare branches. With moderate growth, this beautiful deciduous shrub is well-suited for small gardens. Its beautiful green foliage easily blends into a diverse flower bed, and the intensity of its flowering justifies planting it as a standalone specimen on a lawn.

Magnolia belongs to and gave its name to the Magnoliaceae family. There are about a hundred species of Magnolia, trees and shrubs, mostly native to the warm temperate regions of Asia and North America. The genus is quite diverse, with both deciduous and evergreen plants, and a wide variety of foliage and flower colours.
Magnolia 'Red as Red' is a horticultural variety obtained in New Zealand (South Auckland) by Ian Baldick. This breeder crossed Magnolia 'Pickard's Ruby', with its large bicoloured flowers, with Magnolia 'Vulcan', which offers very large entirely ruby red flowers. With such parents, the result could only be splendid, and 'Red as Red' is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful representatives of the genus.
It forms a medium-sized bush, reaching about 3m in height and 2m in spread after 10 years of cultivation (but sometimes less depending on soil and climate conditions). At maturity, it generally does not exceed 4m in height. Its growth is relatively upright, usually with several main upright and laterally branched limbs. Its initially somewhat stiff habit becomes more rounded with age. The bark is light brown, and the floral buds that form in winter are the same colour. In April, beautiful flowers of almost perfect red, barely tinged with purple, 15cm in diameter appear. This flowering occasionally extends into May, especially if the shrub is in a wind-protected location. The obovate leaves appear towards the end of the flowering period and beautifully dress the plant with their deep green colour. They are deciduous and fall in autumn.

A magnificent variety for small gardens, this Magnolia 'Red as Red' shines with its original colour flowering. Plant it in non-calcareous soil, sufficiently moist, as it does not tolerate dryness, in full sun or under light shade in southern regions. Plant it as a standalone specimen or in a diverse flower bed, alongside plants with staggered flowering to enjoy flowers for a long period. Camellia japonica 'San Dimas' will offer you its wonderful red flowers with a yellow centre from February to April, and even in December, and its dark green evergreen foliage will remain ornamental all year round. To create a superb scene, add Azalea mollis 'White Frills', a Chinese Azalea with white flowers and green-yellow macules that will perfectly complement the bright red of the Magnolia. And for the summer season, take your pick from the vast range of Hydrangeas!